Ightham
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| Ightham | |
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  Ightham shown within Kent |
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| Population | 1,940 (2001) |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | Tonbridge & Malling |
| Shire county | Kent |
| Region | South East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SEVENOAKS |
| Postcode district | TN15 |
| Dialling code | 01732 88 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| European Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Tonbridge & Malling |
| List of places: UK • England • Kent | |
Ightham (pronounced /ˈaɪtəm/ "item") is a village in Kent, England, located approximately four miles east of Sevenoaks and six miles north of Tonbridge.
It is most famous for the nearby medieval manor of Ightham Mote (National Trust) although the village itself is of even greater antiquity. Ightham is not mentioned in Domesday Book but place name evidence implies the name is derived from the Saxon 'Ehtaham'. 'Ehta' is a Jutish personal name, while 'ham' means settlement. The source of the River Bourne is within the parish.
The parish church dates from the 12th century and in 1336 Edward II granted a request for permission to hold an annual fair in the village.
Ightham was famous for growing Kentish cob nuts. These seem to have been cultivated first by a James Usherwood who lived at Cob Tree Cottage, which was until recently the Cob Tree Inn. There are still a number of cob trees in and around the village, but the work of pruning them and picking the nuts is labour intensive and the industry has fallen into decline.
One of the great village characters was Benjamin Harrison, who lived from 1837 to 1921. He was a grocer by trade, but an archaeologist by inclination. He won international recognition as a pioneer in the subject. He found flints in the pre-glacial drift on the North Downs near Ash, which he contended were artefacts, thus vastly antedating the antiquity of man.
Lord Eversley (when Mr. George John Shaw-Lefevre), and his wife, Constance, lived at Oldbury Place in Ightham during the time he was Postmaster General. He was responsible for carrying the Act of Parliament that established sixpenny telegrams. Although, in 1877, it had only been possible to send a telegram via Wrotham Telegraph Station, in 1884 the first sixpenny telegram was sent from the House of Commons, received by the Postmaster of Ightham, Joshua Durling, and dispatched to Oldbury Place.[1]
Ightham also has its own football team, Ightham FC.
[edit] Demography
| Ightham compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK Census | Ightham ward | Tonbridge and Malling borough | England |
| Population | 1,940 | 107,561 | 49,138,831 |
| Foreign born | 8.1% | 4.6% | 9.2% |
| White | 99.1% | 98.3% | 90.9% |
| Asian | 0.6% | 0.7% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.3% | 0.1% | 2.3% |
| Christian | 82.4% | 76.1% | 71.7% |
| Muslim | 0.2% | 0.3% | 3.1% |
| Hindu | 0% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| No religion | 11.6% | 15% | 14.6% |
| Unemployed | 1.9% | 1.9% | 3.3% |
| Retired | 13.9% | 14.2% | 13.5% |
As of the 2001 UK census, the Ightham electoral ward had a population of 1,940. The ethnicity was 99.1% white, 0% mixed race, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% black and 0% other. The place of birth of residents was 91.9% United Kingdom, 0.5% Republic of Ireland, 2% other Western European countries, and 5.6% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 82.4% Christian, 0.2% Buddhist, 0% Hindu, 0% Sikh, 0.5% Jewish, and 0.2% Muslim. 11.6% were recorded as having no religion, 0.4% had an alternative religion and 4.7% did not state their religion.[2]
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 38.2% in full-time employment, 11.6% in part-time employment, 14.7% self-employed, 1.9% unemployed, 1.9% students with jobs, 3.5% students without jobs, 13.9% retired, 11.2% looking after home or family, 1.1% permanently sick or disabled and 1.9% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 12.3% retail, 9.4% manufacturing, 7.2% construction, 18.3% real estate, 8.2% health and social work, 8.3% education, 4.3% transport and communications, 3.2% public administration, 4.3% hotels and restaurants, 17.9% finance, 1.3% agriculture and 5.3% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in finance and real estate. There were a relatively low proportion in manufacturing, public administration, transport and communications. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 35.7% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.[2]
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